Gettin' Ready to Party!

My awesome mother-in-law is going to host a little get-together for me, so I can show off my clothing to other moms.  In light of that, I've been working on bolstering my older girl selection.  I'm not going to lie... I'm pretty stoked with how these first two turned out. :)  And they got a seal of approval from our favorite10-year-old buddy, Hannah.

But perhaps one of the most exciting parts is that 10% of every sale I make is going to Care Net, an absolutely amazing ministry that serves women facing unplanned pregnancies.  As a non-profit, they rely on people's generosity to keep the good work going!  I'm so grateful for this chance to help them serve!

 I have to say... I LOVE this style of dress/top.  The capped sleeves are so cute, and these can last for YEARS.  They have elasticized backs, so they stretch as your little lady grows.  They just go from dress to tunic to top! :)  Seriously, Hannah, who is a size 10/12, tried on one of my 7/8 dresses, and it still fit her-- it was just knee length instead of tea length. 

 For this first top, I dyed the lace to a sweet, peachy color.  It adds a classy touch to this gorgeous, modern fabric.

Here's the back, elasticized for a nice fit.

 

And I adore this little tunic top.  The floral print is to die for, and who doesn't love a good pleat trim? :)

For this one, I also added a tie in the back, so it will be sure to fit perfectly.

I'll keep posting what I'm up to, but since I'm really trying to make as much as possible for this party, the tutorials will probably be a little slim over the next month.  If you see something you like and are interested in purchasing, let me know!  That 10% will still definitely go to Care Net! :)

Firehouse Raglan Tee for Little Man-- tutorial

Oh, man... have I missed posting tutorials!  I'm serious, folks.  I really have.
Have Fall illnesses been kicking anyone else's butts?  Or is it just our little clan.

But speaking of Fall, here's a great little number for your little guy (or girl, really... it's gender-neutral) that's soft and comfy for those brisk days!

Materials:
shirt that fits your tyke
knit fabric
double needle (though it's not necessary!)
sewing gear

Instructions:
Grab a shirt that fits your little one and fold it in half.  Place it on the fold of your main fabric, making sure that it stretches from side-to-side.

You're going to cut a straight line from about halfway to the neckline to the armpit.  Use your shirt for the width measurement.  Also follow your shirt's collar as a template.  Cut two of these.
**FYI-- I cut my neckline way too high... I thought about fixing it here, but I wanted to show you how forgiving this shirt is.  So if you're looks like the neckhole is going to be too small, don't sweat it for now.

For the sleeves, you want that same angle that you had for your main piece.  However, cut them (again, on the fold) slightly skinnier and angle them in a little to where the cuff will be.  Use your shirt to determine the length of sleeve.  Cut two.

Here are your pieces, shown on the fold and opened up.

Place one body piece right sides together to the sleeve pieces and sew up.  Then sew the other body piece to one sleeve, but leave one seam open.  Here you can see how small my head hole would be.  If you have a pinhead baby, cool.  But if you have a child with a human head, you'll want to adjust this.

I just fold in half like this and trim away.  It's really that simple.

Whew.  That's better! :)

Cut a 2-inch wide piece of stretchy knit fabric (I used the same that I had for the sleeves... ribbed knit is good for this, too!).  You want it slightly shorter than the measurement of your neckhole.  Eyeballing mine, it was about 12 inches, so I cut my strip 10.5 inches by 2 inches.   (Sorry... not super detailed...  Again, this is pretty forgiving!)

Fold the strip in half and press.

Find the halfway mark of that strip and pin it halfway in between your two open edges, lining up the raw edge of the strip with the neckline edge.  You'll also want to pin the ends of the strip to the edges of the openings (not shown).

Using a stitch that stretches (zig-zag works), stretch your strip as you sew it to the neckline.  When you finish, it should start rounding out on its own, like this:

Pin that last seam together and, making sure your new collar strip is UP, sew up that side.

Here's what you've got!

If you have a double needle, here's a nice place to use it.  (A tip on threading a double needle that I haven't really seen many places: If you don't have a separate thread holder, make sure your two spools have the thread coming off of them in opposite directions; it keeps them from getting as wound up).  Sew the collar down, with one line of stitches on each side of the seam.  You can also zig-zag or just do nothing.

Since I have my double needle on, I press the sleeves over and hem them.  Again, you can use a zig-zag stitch.

Now fold your shirt in half, right sides together, and sew up the sides and under the sleeves. 

To hem, I pressed my seams out (you could finish them with a zig-zag, but with three small kids, I have to use my time wisely and "make it work").  Then I pressed my hem up and, again, used my double needle to stitch it.

I used red and blue thread for that because, well, I'm crazy like that.  I kind of wish I had used the red on the sleeves and neckline, too!

Last but not least, I like to press my seams of the collar strip and sleeves open and secure them with two straight stitches, like so...

There you have it!  A nice little raglan tee for Little Man!  He'll be thrilled... see? ;)

Captain Ben's Pirate Shirt Tutorial

 It's been quite some time since the last pirate costume post, but I finally got around to making Captain Ben's (the oldest of the cousins) pirate-y shirt.  It's a nice simple project, so here's the quick tutorial for it!

 **Okay... so Riley is modeling the shirt.  Disclaimer: she did not grow that beard herself. :)

 

Materials:
white cotton or white linen look-alike fabric
1/4-yard white cord
a hole-punching doo-dad

Instructions:
**Use 1/2 inch seam allowance throughout**

I didn't take pics of this step, but make a basic rectangle-shaped body piece, using a well-fitting shirt.  Or, if you have the kid's measurements, make a rectangle that is 6-7 inches wides that the chest measurement.  For the length, make it however long you want it minus 1/2-inch.  Make your armhole 6 inches long by 2 inches, with that little curve at the armpit.

I did grab my camera for the sleeve step.  Fold the fabric and trace the curve of your sleeve then extend it as long as you want your sleeves (for Ben's, I went 12 inches).

When you cut the neckholes, make the one in front dip down a little lower than the back.   Here are your pieces!

Take your front body piece and cut a straight line down the center that goes three inches.

Now pin the shoulders together and sew.  Finish with a zig-zag.

Now set your machine to a tight zig-zag stitch and sew all around the neckline.  Pirates, after all, aren't always perfectly finished.  The zig-zag, however, will keep them from fraying too much. At the tip of the V, turn your stitch length to zero and do a few long zig-zags, to keep it from ever ripping all the way down the shirt.

Pin your sleeves, right sides together, onto your body pieces and sew.  Finish with a zig-zag.

Then fold the shirt, right sides together, and sew up the sides and arms.  Finish with a zig-zag.

For the "hem", I did a zig-zag stitch, just a few millimeters from the edge, to keep it from overly fraying but also allowing it to have that worn, more pirate-y look.  Do the same for the arms.

Now place marks slightly up from the bottom of the V and 1/2-inch to each side.  Make two marks, about 1.5" above that.

It'll look like this.

I have one of these tools for inserting snaps, gromets, etc, I used this to punch holes.  

Then (it's hard to see), I sewed a straight stitch around the holes, just a few millimeters from them.  

Grab your cord and weave it through.  

Ahoy, Matey!  You're ready to hit the open waters!

You're a Sweetheart Top

I made this way back before I went to California with Brooks... You know, way back last week. :)  It's actually for sale over at my Etsy shop.  It's the  only item for sale because I'm not really sure I want to really, truly reopen my shop.  I don't know.  I go back and forth.  So randomly adding things is the way I'm going... which I'm sure is the wisest option from a business standpoint (ha!). 

Anyway, here's the top.  I love it because it has that elasticized back which allows it to fit for years.  Well, I love it for more reasons than that, but that's a good one, I think. :)

 

 I used a cute yellow floral print paired with a vibrant purple.  And below you an see the elasticized back.

There's sweetheart trim on the pocket, the bodice and the outside edges of the straps.

It's great on its own or layered.  

So there it is!  

And feel free to share any opinion on the Etsy shop!  To open or not to open?!